Coiled by H. L. Burke

Author:H. L. Burke
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: YA, Mythology, Romance, fantasy, magic
Publisher: Uncommon Universes Press
Published: 2017-06-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Laidra sat in the darkness, her skin still warm from Calen's touch. She breathed deeply of the cedar planks of the hold. Happiness, excitement, and a touch of fear danced within her, a perfect combination of sensations she wished she could hold on to forever.

She smiled. I’m going to be Calen’s bride.

A muffled cry from above froze her heart. Laidra leapt up, smacking her head on a low beam. Pain radiated through her skull, and she collapsed. She probed the throbbing spot, her gift shrinking away the growing bump. Perhaps the cry had only been a gull.

Another shout, his mother, calling to him.

Laidra rushed towards the hatch but froze at the bottom of the ladder. She had nothing to cover her eyes. What if she triggered the curse? Even if she managed to keep her eyes closed, what help would she be to him blind?

Thuds, crashes, then a splash. Unable to hold back any longer, she burst out of the hold. Even though her eyes were closed, she held her hands over them when she reached the deck, for good measure.

“Calen? Zephia? What’s wrong?”

Silence. Only the wind flapping against the sails and the constant roll of the waves. Her stomach tightened.

“Calen?” she whimpered.

“You can open your eyes, child.” Zephia’s voice trembled even as Laidra’s body was beginning to.

Laidra removed her hands. Zephia leaned against the rail, her back to the princess, gaze fixed on the horizon.

“We were too late,” the queen said. “His brother must’ve cured himself, probably with the aid of your sister. So close, but still too late.”

Something within Laidra shattered. She rushed to the rail and shouted, “Calen! Calen!” In the distance, something green flashed among the white-capped waves then disappeared. She sought it but saw nothing. “No.” Her muscles turned to water, and she sank, her head against her knees. “He’s like that forever now?”

Zephia sat beside her. “His uncle claimed once done, it could not be undone.”

A sob wracked her body. “Is any of him left? Does he even know who he is?”

The queen sighed. “It is hard to say. Calen was uncertain how the curse affected his mind. He claimed to have no control over it or any memory of what he did under its influence, but when in its grasp, he still tore at himself rather than harm you.” Pride glinted through the tears in her eyes. “A heart as strong as his may not be so easily defeated.”

Laidra shut her eyes and willed the tears to stop. Every breath she took ached, but she couldn’t just sit there sobbing. “Is there any way I can help him?”

“While I’m not giving up, I don’t know what we can do besides hope and pray.”

The princess swallowed. It had been a vain hope, but she needed something to do, something to give her a purpose or a place to go. There was nothing for her back in Oleva. In the short time she’d known him, Calen had become not only her best friend but her home as well.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.